Moons had passed since the SandClan patrol had returned. It seemed that none of them were old ancestors and that what Ravenpaw had seen was just a trick of the mind. So the Clans were back to their old ways of rivalry.
"Sootheart? Do you want to go hunting with me?" Bluesong was standing at the fresh-kill pile, examining the old, dry prey.
"Sure." He bounded over to his friend and they left the camp. "Where do you want to hunt?"
"Sky Oak?" Sootheart nodded and followed the she-cat to the old tree where Longtail and Mousefur were buried.
They sniffed around for some while and caught a couple shrews and brought them back to camp to eat.
When they entered the camp, Gingerpaw and Molepelt were sharing tongues and Twigfall was looking at the two sadly. Sootheart felt sorry for his sister. She'd liked Molepelt since day one and then some kittypet joins the Clan and she gets tossed aside like a piece of crow-food.
Bluehsong greeted Cherryfrost warmly and sat down beside her to eat, and Sootheart did the same.
"So how was vigil last night?" Cherryfrost's eyes lit up.
"Brackenfur found two young ShadowClan apprentices on our territory climbing trees. They'd just gotten lost and didn't realize they were on our territory, I suppose. Cloudtail, Brackenfur, and Berrynose escorted them back to their territory and warned them to stay off. It was exciting!" Cherryfrost was a rambler sometimes…
"Mind if I join you?" Rosepetal mumbled through a mouse. Sootheart shook his head and patted the ground next to him with his tail. She sat down and devoured her prey.
The sun began to dip below the horizon and the elders slunk from their sunning spots outside their den into the warmth of their nests. The kits went inside and the queens hushed them until the camp fell eerily silent.
Without a word, the four warriors made their way into their nests and fell asleep.
"Finally! Where have you been?" Thistleclaw pinned Sootheart to the ground.
"Living," he snarled. "In the real world, not this wretched dream place." Sootheart flung the brown warrior off him. A moon ago he wouldn't have been able to do that, but now Thistleclaw was much thinner and weaker.
"So who are you loyal to-us or them?" Sootheart had been asked a question like this before and always thought he could have both, but now he realized that he couldn't.
As he turned to run toward the bright white light he'd come to realize led to a deep sleep-a way to escape the Dark Forest when you didn't want to be there-he yowled back at Thistleclaw.
"I will always be loyal to ThunderClan!" And with that he took off into the trees, racing toward the bright light. He heard thundering paw steps of probably a dozen cats pursuing him. They got louder until Sootheart was convinced they were only a tail length behind him.
Just as the pursuers were about to tackle him, he lunged forward and slipped into a deep, restless sleep.
"Sootheart…" Sootheart opened his eyes to see Rosepetal looking at him drowsily. "You've been kicking me in your sleep." She could barely keep her eyes open.
"Sorry." Rosepetal smiled.
"Bad dream?" Sootheart wondered whether he should tell her or not.
"Yeah. It's reoccurring too. Even though I really don't want to go there every night, I just wake up there." Rosepetal's eyes shone with worry.
"What kind of a place do you go to?" She sat up slightly and leaned closer so they could talk without waking other cats.
"It's really dark and gloomy. Thistleclaw calls it the Dark Forest…" Rosepetal gasped and looked around to be sure no one else had heard. Then she looked at Sootheart again.
"Meet me in the training hollow." She got up as silent as a mouse and slipped out of the den. Sootheart followed her.
"Can't sleep?" Blossomfall mewed as they slipped out into the forest.
"Yeah, something like that."
The two warriors sat down in the training hollow and were silent for several heartbeats. Then Rosepetal spoke.
"You've been visiting the Dark Forest?" She hissed at him.
"I just woke up there as an apprentice, but a moon ago when I last saw the forest I never wanted to go back. Then I just awoke there, I didn't choose to." Rosepetal looked away in disappointment.
"I thought you were a good cat."
"I am a good cat! I fled the Dark Forest, and right before I did I promised I'd always be loyal to ThunderClan. I'm never going back there, I promise you, Rosepetal." His eyes shone in the moonlight and Rosepetal met them steadily.
"I'm not the one you need to promise. You need to promise ThunderClan-you need to promise yourself." Sootheart nodded.
"I do promise ThunderClan, and I do promise myself." He pressed his nose to Rosepetal's cheek. "And I don't break my promises." She purred and touched her nose to Sootheart's muzzle.
"I know you don't." The two cats sat in silence, holding each other's gaze for what seemed like moons. Finally, the rising sun jolted them both back into reality.
"We'd better be getting back." Rosepetal got up and began to pad away, but Sootheart stopped her.
"Shouldn't we at least bring something back to show for the time we spent out here?" Rosepetal smiled and padded back over to him. Her pelt gently brushed his.
"Ok. I'll meet you back at camp. I'm going head toward Snakerocks." Sootheart's heart skipped a beat. The thought of Rosepetal going there all alone scared him.
"Mind if I come with you?" She smiled.
"Sure," she purred. The two cats headed off toward the rocks, their fur barely touching.